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tanyag_gw

Planting out veggies and herbs

tanyag
17 years ago

Has anyone planted out your veggies and herbs? We are scheduled to be in the mid to low 50's at least until next Wednesday. I am on Spring Break next week and really want to get them out there, but I'm afraid of a late freeze. Tomatoes and peppers are my biggest scare and this is only my third season to plant. The past two years, I have waited until the end of March. If a late freeze does occur, can I just cover with a sheet or plastic cover?

Comments (5)

  • ltcollins1949
    17 years ago

    I would go ahead and put out your veggies and herbs. Yes, there is always a chance of a freeze in March, but unlikely. If you put on a 2" to 3" mulch, you should not have any problems. And if you have to cover, do so with a sheet and/or blanket and not plastic. You can cover the sheets/blankets with plastic, but don't let the plastic touch the vegetation because it can cause the plants to freeze.

  • fliptx
    17 years ago

    I agree with ltcollins. I started planting out my tomatoes two weeks ago and my peppers went in yesterday. I mulched heavily with coastal hay and oak leaves. When we had a couple nights in the 30s, I covered the tomatoes with Reemay.

    Last year I didn't get my tomatoes in the ground till mid-March and I regretted not putting them out earlier. It got so hot so fast, I know I didn't get as much of a harvest as I might have.

  • MissSherry
    17 years ago

    If your weather is like mine, then yes, you can plant them now, but they won't grow much until late March when the ground really starts to warm up. I bought 6 tomatoes and 1 pepper plant, then potted them up and put them on some baker's racks outside. They'll grow faster in those pots, where the warm air can heat up the soil they're growing in better than if they were in the ground. I'll plant them the last week in March.
    Isn't this weather wonderful?
    Sherry

  • tanyag
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I am planting in pots. I only have one sweet 100 tomato and a purple bell. I have started seed on mini sweet bells and I got my seeds for my window box roma tomatoes and red robin tomatoes. They both are dwarf varieties and the red robin can be grown indoors with lights all year (according to a website I found). We are supposed to have rain mon and tue and it is slightly overcast today. After church, I am going to go ahead and get them in. Thanks for the advice.

  • magnolias4ever
    17 years ago

    I planted my onions back in January. When it would freeze, I just covered them up with oak leaves for the night then uncovered the next morning. I've had great luck with them. They are growing pretty slow with the cooler weather -- but now they are picking up because it's been so nice and warm over the last 2 weeks :)

    This past weekend I got the following seedlings planted (raised beds):

    2 - Sweet 100's Tomatos
    1 - Golden Jubilee Tomato
    1 - Early Girl Tomato
    1 - Yellow Sweet Bell Pepper
    1 - Giant Marconi Sweet Pepper
    1 - Sweet Banana Pepper
    1 - Japanese Eggplant
    7 - Clemson Spineless Okra
    18 - Broccoli

    I also potted in containers:

    1 - Golden Jubilee Tomato
    1 - German Queen Tomato
    1 - Patio Tomato
    1 - ? tomato (can't remember variety LOL)
    1 - Parsley (curly)

    I got alot of seeds started in those compressed pellets this past weekend. Since I have limited room in my raised beds, I thought it would be a good idea to get everything else started in those starters so I wouldn't have to worry about a seed not germinating. Plus, I'm bringing the covered domes that the starters are in inside everynight. Sso they are staying fairly warm to speed germination. Everything is germinating quite nicely :) I have:

    7 Top Turnip
    India Mustard
    Detriot Red Beet
    Blue Lake Bush Snap Bean
    Purple Queen Bush Snap Bean
    Provider Bush Snap Bean
    Cherokee Wax Bush Snap Bean
    Golden Beets
    Dragon Tongue Bush Snap Bean
    Tender Green Bush Snap Bean
    Cucumber - Blonde
    Cucumber - National Pickling
    Corn, Early Sunglow

    I'll set all of these out over the next two weeks. The turnips and mustard greens are already coming up!

    I think I'm going to continue using the pellets thru out the gardening season because I can get seedlings planted inside and get them a 2 to 4 week head start before transplanting them in the garden. If I time it right, I can pull up plants that are finished producing and toss them into the compost pile and immediately replant the square with a seedling that's a couple of weeks old. I'm hoping that I can rotate more crops thru this way too. And, it will keep my veggie garden looking planted all the time and I won't have any bare spots.

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